Sharing Burlington's dreams

Burlington Post

This past week, I met for three days with more than 35 community leaders to form a shared dream of Burlington, one that will inspire us, protect what is sacred and ensure a high quality of life into the future. This event took place as a result of the many conversations I have had over the past two years that led me to believe that we have a need and an opportunity to better define what we want Burlington to be, how we want others to see us, and how we want to see ourselves.

The group of community leaders included politicians, business owners, healthcare advocates, educators, volunteers from culture and sport and not-for-profit leaders. The group represented men and women and ranged in age from 17 to 78. The group talked passionately about what is important to Burlington. This was an intense process and inspiring for all of us as it become abundantly clear how we as a collective feel about our city.

The group identified that:

• We are proud of being the “jewel on the lake” and having a world biosphere reserve — the Niagara Escarpment — in our backyard

• We want a vibrant city, charged with activity and energy, and a place that is compassionate

• We feel a sense of belonging in Burlington and want to be connected to our community

• We want great opportunities, forward-thinking ideas and a prosperous future for all

I believe these thoughts accurately reflect the sentiment of the community as a whole.

We came a long way toward finding one dream to capture the many awesome aspects of Burlington, but there is still work to be done. We will continue to work through this process and I will share those updates with you along the way.

When we, as Burlingtonians, reach into our hearts to voice what we love about Burlington, and distil it into one idea — one common dream — we can achieve greatness. This dream becomes something the community can aspire to, a rallying point that will bring us together and allow us to make the decisions we have to make with purpose.

I look forward to continuing the journey and sharing the dream with you.